The Shadow War
by Rielence
Summary: Long ago, when the goddess Hylia was still remembered, there was a Great War. A war for the Sacred Realm, a war for the kingdom, a war for the Triforce itself. In this war, a small team with great magical power arose and went down in infamy as "The Interlopers". This is the known history of Hyrule, but the question will always exist: Who were they? Who WERE the Interlopers?


_**The Shadow War**__** is a story written by four writers, Rielence, Kiboeme,**____**TwiliCuckoo, and Zant the Twili King. All four have put in a lot of time and effort in making this story what it is, and all of them would appriceate a review to see how you like it. This is a team effort and we will rotate chapters every time to deliver a fresh, new writing style with each new chapter. Each and every one of us hopes you will enjoy what you see, and we I personally hope you'll check out the others after reading this, they're much better than me! **__Signed, Rielence___

**This Chapter was written by Kiboeme, please look at her own content after this.**

It was empty, and it was dark. There was no way to measure time or space because neither existed, and at the same time both were infinite. But he was alone. Not even imprisoned, as before, but vanquished. All of his power was gone; it had slipped from his core and returned to the goddesses, thanks to the Chosen Hero and the damned Triangles on the back of his hand.

But as Demise rested, he grew restless. He became angry, hateful, more filled with the longing for vengeance than ever. And as he gained his strength once more, he started to hear whispers of the outside world. Trickles of sound and droplets of thought from the surface world he once had ruled. Happiness, joy, peace; all of these things seeped through the prison's barriers and penetrated Demise like piercing points of light.

Among the shining spires of goodness, though, there was one that was not quite right. A tip that neared the Demon God but did not touch him, a spear slightly different colored from the rest. It felt stranger, darker, less joyful than the others. Demise had found his connection to the surface once again. He had found his way out.

Ashevi suddenly found herself awake. She cracked one eye open, squinting against the thin gray light that filtered directly on to her face from the open window to the east. The warm, gentle scent of the morning meal drifted across Ashevi's nose, causing her stomach to twist and pinch. Too bad she was assigned to Tasks and could not eat yet.

She threw the blankets off herself and dressed quickly, then left her room. Ashevi left the training compound immediately, barely sparing a discreet nod of greeting for her Shadow Mentor as she passed the cooking fire. Being assigned to Tasks was a punishment given to disobedient Sheikah trainees. It entailed giving all of the morning's chores, which were typically shared by all trainees and meant to teach discipline and cooperation, to a single Sheikah. The recipient if the punishment was tasked with single-handedly collecting firewood and kindling, gathering edible and medicinal vegetation, clearing the training grounds of overnight debris, cleaning off and otherwise preparing training equipment, and setting up the morning meal. She was not permitted to eat or speak until all of the chores were done and took the morning meal last. Somehow, Ashevi was almost constantly assigned to Tasks. She could never seem to check her tongue or soften her strikes or rein in her temper and magic. Though she considered herself the most skilled of all the Sheikah trainees- and rightly so -control was highly valued by the tribe and also seemed to be the one skill Ashevi did not possess. Consequentially, it was rare to not find her awake and working before any of her peers had thought of greeting the day.

Fortunately, the frequency of doing the Tasks made hem easy and habitual. Ashevi finished her chores quickly and returned to sit at the cooking fire just as the next trainee was emerging from their own room. One by one, each of the remaining ten trainees woke up and took their morning meal. Ashevi, last in line, thanked the woman serving her. Today, the server happened to be Ashevi's own mentor and teacher, her personal Shadow Master.

"My thanks, Minan," she murmured with a shallow nod. The Master nodded.

"My duty done well," she replied genially, a soft smile touching her lips. The young Sheikah was one of the most skilled to ever come from the tribe. She was the youngest graduate ever, but she was as dedicated as Ashevi to becoming only the second-youngest to her trainee. "Have you performed your meditative exercises yet?" she asked once Ashevi had straightened from her bow. Ashevi hesitated, then shook her head.

"No, Master Minan. I have not yet had the opportunity to pause in my Tasks and still my whole self," she admitted with regret. "I plan to use the time after morning meal to do them," she added truthfully.

Minan nodded and sent Ashevi off to eat. After she had downed the gruel and berry mix, Ashevi returned to her room. She sat in the middle of the bare earthen floor with her legs folded into a lotus. She closed her eyes and focused on the warm ball of energy that rested in her core. Ashevi pictured the energy as a fist-sized ball of silver light that slowly grew from its position in her abdomen to envelop her entire body. The peace and clarity that she always found during medication stole over her. Ashevi drifted in the inner bliss for a moment more. Them she was plunged into a vision.

Flames burned across the land, ravaging the world with heat. The sky was choked with ash. The ground oozed with shadows and blood. Then, out of the hazy chaos around her, a soft golden light began to form. Little by little, the destruction melted away, leaving behind a charred and barren, but peaceful landscape.

Suddenly, the scene around her flickered and morphed into the inside of a throne room. In front of her, seated on a vast black throne, was an imposing man with fiery hair and black armor. At his side stood a lithe white figure clothed in a crimson cape.

"My King," said the white figure, bending to one knee and bowing his head.

"Ghirahim," the King said in a deep, powerful voice. "Do my armies continue to be slaughtered?"

"Yes, my King," Ghirahim replied. "In fact, the opposing army-" His report to the King was interrupted by a sudden pounding at the doors of the throne room. He vanished in a shower of diamond-shape particles. The doors burst open inward and from behind them came the nose of a battering ram and several dozen weapon-wielding soldiers. Painted upon their flags was a triangular symbol and the face of a woman that looked much like the tribe leader, the one who refused to let Ashevi graduate and instead assigned her Tasks.

The King stood up at the abrupt intrusion and faced the army calmly. How he remained so confident while nearly a hundred armed men charged at him was a mystery to Ashevi, until she saw him raise his left hand and swipe it through the air. The army in front of him vanished, weapons and all. Then the King turned his gaze to Ashevi.

"Come to me," he commanded her. Ashevi obeyed, approaching him with her head bowed and back bent.

"My King," she said quietly, glancing up. The man lifted his left hand once again, and Ashevi flinched. Instead of making her vanish, though, the King lifted her into the air with his magic and held her several feet off the floor.

"You have seen my power, and you lust for such strength for yourself," he stated.

"Yes, my King!" Ashevi cried. A warm tingle began to spread through her body.

"Then I shall give it to you. Watch for my signs and gather the materials I command you to. Bring them to me where I say and I will assist you in crafting the most powerful weapon known to mankind. Then you can use this to access the power of the Life Force, and with this you will be able to release me. I will reward you with limitless power and make you my highest lieutenant. For now, I give you this." His hand curled into a loose fist and Ashevi felt new power begin to trickle into her.

"More and more shall be given to you as you continue to show loyalty to my command," he promised. "Now, begin your work and ******awake**."


End file.
